One Of A Few Good MenAdam Kokesh joined the U.S. Marines in 1999, before it was cool he
notes, out of a sense of patriotism. He served in Iraq, seeing Fallujah up close
and personal, before being honorably discharged last November. Kokesh, a
corporal in the Corps who now uses the rank PFC--Proud F***ing Civilian, then
promptly joined Iraq Veterans Against the War and became visibly active in
protests against the unjust war he had experienced first hand.

Because he sometimes wore parts of his old fatigue
uniform while protesting, tomorrow Kokesh faces a hearing here in Kansas City
where the Corps will try to change his honorable discharge to dishonorable
status. This would be more than a semantic judgment. Dishonorable discharge
would disqualify him from the GI benefits he had earned and would in fact
require him to repay thousands of dollars in college assistance already
received.

Kokesh rejected a plea bargain that would have given
him a slightly less humiliating general discharge. Writing the brass hat who
made the offer Kokesh pulled no punches,

If I accept this “plea bargain,” I would have to
allow you to punish me for speaking my mind, allow you to say that it is somehow
less than honorable for thousands of IRR [Individual Ready Reserve] Marines to
exercise their freedom of speech, allow you to silence the voices of those whose
experiences are most relevant in the most pressing debate before the nation, and
allow you to say that Thomas Jefferson was wrong. If this is your intent, I
would ask to please, kindly, go f*** yourself. I will not allow it.

Shocked that a Marine would use such four-letter words,
the men from JAG then added obscenity charges to their list of particulars
against Kokesh.

Even the brass dominated, gung-ho pro-war VFW--after
initially supporting the attack on Kokesh-- has now asked the Corps to back off.
“Trying to hush up and punish fellow Americans for exercising the same
democratic right we’re trying to instill in Iraq is not what we’re all about,”
said Gary Kurpius, the VFW’s national commander.

Our country should be grateful for a few good men like
Adam Kokesh.

And A Good Woman Who Deserves
BetterCindy Sheehan energized antiwar activity at a critical time. She has
drained herself physically, financially, and emotionally to try to give
expression to what has become majority sentiment. She’s a hero to many of us and
no body will blame her for taking a well deserved break from the unsustainable
pace she has maintained.

But adding to her burden was the shabby way in which
cynical politicians, even more cynical “leftists,” and a turf brawling, divided
peace movement, alternately tried to exploit her popularity while stabbing her
in the back when she became too critical of the Democrats.

They don’t like it when Cindy says things like this on
Amy Goodman’s radio show,

We really need an opposition party in this country.
But we vote out of our fear. We go and we vote for the lesser of two evils, and
we always end up getting somebody evil.

On the same show Cindy promised to return to activism
after “retooling.” We look forward to that day. But we shouldn’t sit around
waiting for her or another Cindy. We need to collectively carry on her fight to
build an independent mass movement that can force an end this war--and ensure
there will be no more new Gold Star Mothers like Cindy Sheehan.

Single-Payer Heats UpThe Hartford Courant reported, “On one of the busiest days of the
year at the state Capitol, 22 demonstrators were arrested Friday as they called
for universal health care and a single-payer health system.” Nine of them had
been sitting-in at Governor M. Jodi Rell's office after she refused to even
respond to a request to meet them to discuss single-payer proposals. Among those
busted were Robert Madore, director of 67,000 member UAW Region 9A and Brian
Petronella, president of UFCW Local 317, which represents 11,000 Connecticut
workers.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses
Organizing Committee is joined with RNs and RN organizations around the US to
host 3,000 screenings of the opening of Michael Moore’s SiCKO on June 29.
Check out their From SiCKO to 676 web site here.

Unionists, retirees, and
activists from the Universal Health Care Action Network-Minnesota, picketed the
United Health Group shareholder’s meeting in Minneapolis, promoting the
single-payer alternative.

An All Unions Committee for Single Payer
Healthcare — HR 676 is being pulled together with the goal of obtaining one
thousand union endorsements for the Conyers bill. A web site is under
construction and they’ve already established a news and information e-mail list.
You can get on this useful list by contacting:
nursenpo@aol.com

Spaced Out Agency
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has had it with arrogant environmentalists
whining about a climate crisis. In an interview with National Pentagon Radio he
said, “I guess I would ask which human beings, where and when, are to be
accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have
right here today, right now, is the best climate for all other human beings. I
think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take.” It is pretty cheeky
of us to decide for our grandkids that they shouldn’t live in a world eight
degrees hotter.

Meanwhile, NASA is preparing for
the first scab mission to space. A union representing 570 space shuttle program
workers at the Kennedy Space Center voted to strike less than a week before the
planned launch of the shuttle Atlantis. The private contractor involved, United
Space Alliance, claims “a strike would not affect the next launch or the next
one after that.” Anyone know the air space limits of the Taft-Hartley Act?

Changing Times
Nancy Cleeland has been arguably the best labor reporter for any mainstream
major paper. This week she explained why she is among a number of talented
journalists that have had to take a buy-out at the shrinking Los Angeles
Times.

“We each have our reasons for
taking the latest buyout offer from Chicago-based Tribune Company. In my case,
the decision grew out of frustration with the paper's coverage of working people
and organized labor, and a sad realization that the situation won't change
anytime soon,” the Pulitzer winner wrote.

“In a way, the Times
created my obsession for economic and class issues by sending me into low-wage
Los Angeles as part of a 1998 initiative to increase coverage of Latinos. I was
a seasoned journalist with lots of experience in Third World countries. Still,
the level of exploitation I saw shocked me. Illegal immigrants, in particular,
had no rights. In a range of industries, including manufacturing and retail,
they were routinely underpaid and fired after any attempt to assert rights or
ask for higher wages.”

She goes on to comment about her
senior editors, “in a region of increasing polarization, where six figure
incomes put them in the top tier of the economy, they may not see the inequities
in their own backyard.

“I couldn't stop seeing them. I
remembered the workers who killed chickens, made bagged salads, packed frozen
seafood, installed closet organizers, picked through recycled garbage, and
manufactured foam cups and containers. They were injured from working too fast,
fired for speaking up, powerless, invisible. I saw that their impact on all of
us who live in the region is huge.

“Now, like hundreds of other
mid-career journalists who are walking away from media institutions across the
country, I'm looking for other ways to tell the stories I care about.”

I have a feeling Nancy Cleeland
will find a way to tell those stories. We wish her well.

Thanks to Sean in San Francisco
for calling this article to my attention.

Reality Video
You should take a look at a video recordingof carrier goons known as Rail Police
arresting peaceful picketers at a Canadian Pacific property in B.C. Those busted
are striking members of the Maintenance of Way Employees division of Teamsters
Canada.